The present invention relates to optical communication systems, optical communication system terminal facilities, optical communication methods, and methods of communicating within an optical network.
Optical or lightwave networks have enjoyed increased popularity in networking applications. Optical network media provides advantageous properties such as extraordinary bandwidth, low loss, low cost, light weight, compactness, strength, flexibility, immunity to interference, security and privacy, and corrosion resistance, for example.
In general, lightwave network architectures include complex combinations of both optical and electronic devices. Lightwave networks are utilized in numerous applications to serve large geographically dispersed users. Numerous factors or considerations are taken into account when designing such optical networks to serve such users. Issues regarding connectivity include providing support for a large number of stations and end systems to support a very large number of concurrent connections including multiple connections per station in one exemplary consideration. Performance issues include high aggregate throughput (on the order of hundreds of terabits per second), high user bit rate (on the order of gigabits per second) and adaptability to changing unbalanced loads.
Structural issues of optical networks include scalability, modularity and survivability. With the ability to provide increased capacity of data communications within modern optical communication systems, more traffic is concentrated upon fewer routes. Such increases the number of customers that can be potentially affected by a failure within a link or span of the network system. Fast and reliable carrier link protection, and node protection and restoration methods are desired to provide rerouting of affected traffic in an accurate and rapid manner. Quick detection, identification and restoration provide robust and reliable networks resulting in increased confidence at the customer level.
Traffic usage will continue to increase as the data capacity of optical or lightwave networks increases. Therefore, there exists a need to provide robust network systems of heightened accuracy and reliability to assure proper communication of the increased amounts of data.
The present invention provides optical communication systems, optical communication system terminal facilities, optical communication methods, and methods of communicating within an optical network.
According to a first aspect of the invention, an optical communication system comprises: a plurality of optical communication conduits individually configured to communicate data communication signals; an optical switch adapted to optically couple a communication path of an associated data terminal with at least one of the optical communication conduits; and a controller configured to monitor the data communication signals and to control the optical switch responsive to the monitoring of the data communication signals.
A second aspect of the present invention provides an optical communication system terminal facility comprising: circuitry configured to convert data communication signals intermediate an electrical domain and an optical domain; an optical switch adapted to optically couple the circuitry with a plurality of optical communication conduits individually configured to communicate data communication signals provided in the optical domain; and a controller configured to monitor the data communication signals and to control the optical coupling of the optical switch responsive to the monitoring.
Another aspect of the invention provides an optical communication method comprising: converting data communication signals intermediate an electrical domain and an optical domain; providing an optical switch adapted to couple with a plurality of optical communication conduits individually configured to communicate the data communication signals in the optical domain; monitoring the data communication signals; and controlling the optical switch to communicate the data communication signals using one of the optical conduits responsive to the monitoring.
Yet another aspect of the present invention provides a method of communicating within an optical network comprising: providing a plurality of terminal facilities; communicating data communication signals provided within an optical domain intermediate the terminal facilities using one of a plurality of optical communication conduits; monitoring the data communication signals; and switching an optical coupling of at least one of the terminal facilities with the one optical communication conduit to another optical communication conduit responsive to the monitoring.